Splatoon was Nintendo's break-out new IP of the Wii U era. The original game released in 2015 to acclaim for its fresh take on the first-person shooter genre that was more accessible by leaning away from precision kills, as well as its aesthetic blend of aquatic critters and hip-hop/punk style. It quickly spawned a franchise, with Splatoon 2 releasing on Switch in 2017 and Splatoon 3 already planned to launch in 2022; not to mention its Inkling squid-kid characters appearing in multiple crossovers including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8.
One interesting thing about Splatoon compared to contemporaries like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda is that its relatively frequent releases have bolstered their multiplayer focus with a deeper, ongoing single-player narrative. In fact, Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion in 2018 added a lot to the lore of its underlying post-apocalyptic universe. The September 2021 Nintendo Direct included a new Splatoon 3 trailer teasing its story mode, "Return of the Mammalians," which could have fun implications following the Octo Expansion.
The Splatoon Story so Far
The original Splatoon's story took players to Octo Valley, in which their character became Agent 3: a member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon led by Great Turf War veteran Cap'n Cuttlefish. Agents 1 and 2 are Cuttlefish's grandkids Callie and Marie (the superstar Squid Sisters by day), and they continue an eternal fight against the Octarian army by rescuing the stolen Great Zapfish that powers Inkopolis.
Splatoon 2's story was a bit of a retread, with the player character becoming Agent 4 and investigating Octo Canyon to rescue the Great Zapfish (again) as well as a brainwashed Callie. Because the sequel came out so soon after Splatoon and its story mode is meant to be a tutorial, this repetition is easy enough to excuse. Luckily, the Octo Expansion was revealed not long after, and it was much more ambitious - stemming from the end of the first game when the Squid Sisters perform the "Calamari Inkantation" while battling Octarian leader DJ Octavio.
This performance was so powerful it freed Octolings from their brainwashing at the hands of the Octarians, leading to Marina becoming a co-member of band Off the Hook and Agent 8 waking up with amnesia in the Deepsea Metro station. Agent 8 has to help Cap'n Cuttlefish find Agent 3 and escape the metro, but they discover the mysterious figure helping them along is actually an AI built by humans 12,000 years ago before they went extinct.
That AI, which goes by Commander Tartar, was built to pass human knowledge along to "the next worthy lifeform." However, displeased with how the Inklings and Octolings use their sentience, it instead tries to destroy the planet and start anew using a massive cannon built into the NILS Statue; reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty rising from the ocean. Naturally, the heroes succeed in stopping this threat.
Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians
Splatoon 3's story is largely being kept under wraps, but the two trailers released for the game and a Nintendo news post uploaded on September 23 reveal its broad strokes. Some time after Splatoon 2, Cap'n Cuttlefish retires and leaves Agent 3 in charge of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. In a distant place called the Splatlands, based on a post-apocalyptic France given its setpiece of an upside-down Eiffel Tower, they team up with Splatoon 3's player character. This new Agent 3, partnered with a pet Salmonid Smallfry, investigate mysterious Fuzzy Ink coming from a rocket launch site in an arctic land called Alterna.
That ink appears to turning Octarians furry; yet another variant of the foes following Splatoon 2's Sanitized Octarians created by Commander Tartar. Due to that fur being linked with mammals in the story mode's title, it's hard to ignore the comparisons with what could be another remnant of human society haunting the Earth's new inhabitants in Splatoon 3.
Perhaps the original Agent 3 is using her team to investigate similar phenomenon to the murderous AI all around the world. If another human-programmed AI were to exist in Alterna that booted up with the intent of bringing mammalian species such as humans back to life, this could pose a threat to Inkling and Octoling society. It's also possible DJ Octavio will return again, perhaps with knowledge of this corrupting ink left by old human constructs that he can use to stop the Squidbeak Splatoon once and for all. Whatever the case may be, it will be interesting to see where the Splatoon franchise takes its expanding narrative next.
Splatoon 3 is scheduled to release in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.
